URBAN CYCLING - TALE OF 2 CITIES

According to a Dec. 2003 Metropolis article, "Picture yourself
walking in a city where the predominant sounds are the rotational clink
of chains and the whir of spokes punctuated occasionally by bells
ringing or warning calls when you've drifted into a bicycle lane. You
can hear the sounds of conversation down the block, of doors onto the
street opening and closing, of footsteps. Now imagine standing on a
street where horns are blowing, brakes squealing, and revving engines
set off car alarms. As a pedestrian, you are forced to shout over this
sonic hurricane, to have your movements dictated by the rhythms and
noise of automobile traffic.

"The first city I described does exist, as my recent trips to
Copenhagen and Amsterdam proved. These locales are well-known for their
transportation policies that encourage bicycle ridership. The second
city also exists; it might be the town where you live, although I was
thinking specifically of my home, New York. After all, although it is
rife with non-vehicular traffic (pedestrians crowd the sidewalks and
subways run 24 hours a day), cars still dominate its streets. Yet this
monopoly on New York's blacktop may be changing. There are signs that
city officials are encouraging bicycle travel in the five boroughs,
and, officially or not, looking to European models for ways to
cultivate a cyclist-friendly atmosphere..."

Source:
http://www.metropolismag.com/html/urbanjournal_1203/urbancycling.html
Title: "Urban Cycling: A Tale of Two Cities"
Author: Kristi Cameron
From: Centerlines, bikewalk.org